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From first sight and hearing, there are strong reminders of the Bon Iver album: both covers depict wilderness landscapes and both artists’ songs are full of melancholy and informed by loss (of Daniel Rossen’s father and Justin Vernon’s relationship). Musically, elegiac arrangements, layered harmonies and spacey vocals are common to both.
Department of Eagles are Fred Nicolaus and Daniel Rossen, the latter also a member of Grizzly Bear. Four years in the making, the songs on In Ear Park are very personal but placed within a lush setting. ‘No One Does It’ has echoey vocals and complex production, ‘Teenagers’ matches crashing piano chords and blasts of horns to dramatic effect while ‘Floating On The LeHigh’ is a special sort of ethereal. The theatrical ‘Classical Records’ captures that sense of loss and nostalgia that permeates the album perfectly: “do you listen to your classical records anymore/ or do you let them sleep in their sleeves/ where they weep?”
If ever there was a Venn diagram where the circles represented woozy psychedelia, mournful Californian songwriting and elaborate arrangements a la Brian Wilson and Van Dykes Park, Department of Eagles would sit neatly at the intersection of all three. It's quite a meaty listen - after a few weeks I still don't grasp it all, and most albums tend to drop their metaphorical knickers on the first date - but it's worth the investment of your time.
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